Recent Surgery With Endometriosis: What to Track and How to Prepare

Updated 3 October 2026

Most advice about endometriosis surgery starts after the operation. By then, the details that make comparison possible are already gone: how pain ran in the weeks before, which questions were asked, what instructions the hospital gave, and what the surgeon said on the day. A few lines written earlier are hard to rebuild later.

This guide covers the weeks before and around a procedure: a pre-op baseline, questions to bring, what to have ready, and what to write down at discharge. For the recovery weeks themselves, see our guide on what to log after endometriosis surgery. It gives no surgical guidance; the plan belongs with your clinicians.

Four windows around an operation, and what each one needs

A procedure creates a short sequence of moments when details are easiest to lose. The first is the baseline weeks before the date. The second is the stretch of questions and paperwork, including the pre-operative assessment. The third is the day itself and discharge. The fourth is the first follow-up, where someone asks what changed. Each window needs a different kind of note, and one short entry in each is enough.

NICE says to ask people with suspected or confirmed endometriosis about their symptoms, preferences, and priorities with respect to pain and fertility, to guide surgical decision-making (NICE). That means your own priorities are part of the conversation, and writing them down beforehand helps you say them clearly. Put them in one or two lines: what you most want to change, what worries you, and whether fertility plans matter. Date the lines so you can see later whether the answers stayed the same. If fertility is part of your plans, the ESGE-ESHRE-WES working group says fertility plans and indications for surgery should be discussed before the procedure (ESGE-ESHRE-WES).

In Endometriosis Journey, the Daily Journal supports voice notes, which suit a priorities line written while waiting for an appointment. The Weekly Goals tracker can hold one small preparation aim per week. Insights can later show how the weeks around the date looked on one timeline.

A pre-op baseline: what the weeks before the date should show

A baseline is the plain record of how you were before the operation, so later weeks have something to be compared with. Two to four weeks of short daily entries are enough. Write pelvic pain with a 0–10 score, bleeding and flow, bowel and bladder symptoms, fatigue, sleep, mood, and one function line such as what you could not do. The ESGE-ESHRE-WES working group writes that it is very important to record co-morbidities and take them into consideration when deciding on surgery, and that pain can be assessed, for instance, using a visual analogue scale (ESGE-ESHRE-WES).

From Endometriosis Journey, we recommend adding the cycle day to every line, because pain tied to the cycle reads differently from pain through the month, and a procedure date can fall at any point in it. Also note other health conditions and anything that changed since your last review, such as a new symptom or a new medicine as prescribed. A baseline with gaps still shows the typical level.

Checklist for a pre-op baseline when you have endometriosis

Endometriosis Journey (part of Health Journey Labs) builds the baseline from these entries:

• Pelvic pain 0–10 with cycle day
• Bleeding, flow, and bleeding between periods
• Bowel and bladder symptoms
• Fatigue, sleep, and mood
• One function line per day
• Other health conditions and recent changes

In Endometriosis Journey, the Daily check-in covers pelvic pain, fatigue, bowel and bladder symptoms, sleep, mood, and medications in one pass. The Period Tracker covers start and stop dates, flow, and heaviness. Insights can later set the baseline weeks beside the weeks that follow.

Questions to bring to your surgeon or gynecologist before the operation

NICE lists what a discussion of surgical options may include: what a laparoscopy involves, that it may include surgical treatment with prior patient consent, how it could affect endometriosis symptoms, the possible benefits and risks, the possible need for further surgery, and the possible need for further planned surgery for deep endometriosis involving the bowel, bladder, or ureter (NICE). That list works as an outline. Write each topic as a question and leave space for the answer.

The working group adds that informed consent should be relevant to the patient and must cover the extent of the surgery that may be performed and its potential complications, with pros and cons of alternatives presented (ESGE-ESHRE-WES). Useful questions follow from that: what could be done during the operation, who else might be in the operating room, what would change the plan, how long before the first review, and who to call with a question. Note the date, the clinician, and the answer. Our guide on what to bring to a 15-minute endometriosis visit helps when time is short.

In Endometriosis Journey, My Care Team stores clinicians and visit notes, so each answer stays with the right name. The Doctor Report exports a one-page summary of your logged baseline for the visit. Insights can show which symptoms repeated most across the baseline weeks.

Medicines, test results, and surgical history to have ready

The NHS tells people having an operation to make sure they know the results of any previous tests, as well as all the medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements they take (NHS). It also says the pre-operative information will state whether you should stop taking your usual medicines before going into hospital. Keep one list with each name, why it is prescribed, and who prescribes it. Follow the hospital's instructions about any change, and do not stop or change a medicine because of this log.

The working group describes a surgical history as essential and says previous operation reports should be read in detail (ESGE-ESHRE-WES).

Surgical history to gather before the operation

Endometriosis Journey gathers four items for each earlier operation:

• The date.
• The hospital.
• The surgeon's name.
• Copies of reports.

If you cannot get a report, write what you remember with the date and where. Also gather scan and lab results with their dates. You do not need to interpret them; copy the wording and bring the paper. If something is missing, a note saying who holds it is still useful.

In Endometriosis Journey, My Meds stores medicine names and timing as prescribed, and My Labs records result dates for imaging, bloodwork, and other tests. The Daily Journal holds notes about earlier operations in your own words. Insights can place dated changes beside symptom weeks.

The pre-operative visit: what to bring and write down

The NHS describes a pre-operative assessment as an appointment with a nurse, in person or by video or telephone, where you are asked about your health, medical history, and home circumstances, and some tests may be carried out; it usually happens one or more days before the operation (NHS). You will be given information on whether you need to stop eating and drinking in the hours before, whether to stop usual medicines, what to bring, and whether you will stay overnight.

Write those instructions down as given, with the date and the name of the person who gave them. The NHS pack list includes medicines you normally take with a list of the doses for each, a notebook and pen, your appointment card or admission letter, and your primary care doctor's contact details. For endometriosis surgery, you might also bring period products, a list of questions, and your one-page summary. (Endometriosis Journey recommendations: keep a single page for the hospital, so every nurse and surgeon reads the same dates.)

In Endometriosis Journey, My Meds keeps the medicine list ready to copy onto the hospital's forms. The Doctor Report exports a one-page summary of your baseline, and My Care Team stores clinicians and visit notes. Insights can show which entries repeated most across the weeks you logged.

Planning help, time off, and the ride home

The NHS says you cannot drive after a laparoscopy, so you need to organize for someone to drive you home, and that most people can leave hospital either on the same day or the day after (NHS). It also says recovery varies: up to 10 days if it was done to diagnose a condition, with up to 3 weeks before returning to work, and up to 6 to 8 weeks to fully recover if you have had surgery. Those figures are the NHS's general ones for laparoscopy, so ask your own team what to expect.

The NHS also suggests giving family and friends plenty of notice.

Help plan for endometriosis surgery

Endometriosis Journey turns the logistics into a dated plan with five lines:

• Who drives you home.
• Who stays with you.
• Which days you will be away from work or study.
• What needs covering at home.
• What you will do if you need to stay longer.

Write each commitment with a name and a date. If you care for others, add who covers which tasks. Keep the list updated as the date moves.

In Endometriosis Journey, the Weekly Goals tracker can hold one aim, such as confirming the ride and the time off this week. The Daily Journal keeps names and dates of who agreed to help. Insights can show how pain and fatigue ran as the date approached.

Discharge details and warning signs to write down on the day

Discharge notes after endometriosis surgery

Before you leave, Endometriosis Journey suggests writing down five things:

1. What was done, in plain words.
2. What the team told you about findings.
3. Any instructions about medicines and wound care.
4. The date and time of the next contact.
5. Who to call.

Source: Endometriosis Journey

The NHS lists signs that need urgent medical advice after a laparoscopy, including a high temperature, severe or continuous vomiting, abdominal pain that is getting worse, a bloated abdomen, and pain, swelling, bleeding, pus, or redness around the wounds (NHS). It adds that a very fast heartbeat, chest pain, or severe difficulty breathing are reasons to call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency department.

Keep that list where you and the person helping you can see it. Writing it before you go home means you do not have to remember it while tired. Also ask for the operation report and any pictures to be sent to you or placed in your record; the working group says previous operation reports and any pictures or videos should be read and reviewed carefully by later surgeons (ESGE-ESHRE-WES). Log a first-day entry that uses the same pain and function lines as your baseline, so the first comparison is easy to make. Our guide on endometriosis pain after hysterectomy applies if a hysterectomy was part of the plan.

In Endometriosis Journey, the Daily Journal supports voice notes, which help when typing is tiring. The Flare Tracker marks onset, intensity, and a note if a day is clearly worse than expected. Insights can relate those first entries to your baseline weeks.

The follow-up visit: findings, comparison, and what comes next

At the first review, the most useful page compares the baseline with the weeks since.

Baseline compared with the weeks after surgery

Endometriosis Journey puts the baseline averages on one side and the recent entries on the other, using the same lines as the pre-op baseline.

Source: Endometriosis Journey

Add the operation name and date, the instructions you were given, and your questions. UCLH says that if a large amount of endometriosis is found at the initial laparoscopy, it may be felt appropriate to plan a second procedure for more extensive surgery at a later date (UCLH). Ask what was found, what was done, and whether anything further is planned.

NICE lists the possible need for further surgery among the topics of a surgical discussion (NICE). Write the answers with dates. Also ask what to keep logging until the next review and which changes should prompt an earlier call. For the day-to-day log in the recovery weeks, use the guide linked in the introduction, so this page stays about the review. A dated page lets you spend the visit on decisions instead of reconstructing the weeks.

In Endometriosis Journey, the Doctor Report exports a one-page summary from your logged history, which can hold the baseline and the weeks since. My Care Team stores clinicians and visit notes, so findings and plans stay together. Insights can show which symptoms improved, stayed, or changed across the weeks you logged.

How Endometriosis Journey can help

A notebook can hold a baseline and a discharge note. The harder step is keeping the baseline, the questions, the instructions, and the recovery weeks on one timeline, and bringing a clean comparison to the first review. A dated history that already holds symptoms, the cycle, medicines, and care-team notes makes that comparison faster. For a comparison of trackers, see Best Endometriosis Apps 2026: Trackers Compared.

Endometriosis Journey is a personal endometriosis tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. On this topic, it lets you keep the baseline, the medicine list, the questions, and the discharge notes together, from the weeks before the date through the first review. That dated history gives your surgical team a clear before-and-after record and gives you a ready page for every visit. Below is what you can use and how each part helps.

• Daily check-in — A short guided pass across physical symptoms, emotional state, nutrition, sleep, exercise, meds, and external factors, so insights can show links memory misses.
• Daily Journal — Freer notes, including voice when pain makes typing hard, that give insights context scores cannot carry.
• Flare Tracker — Mark a day clearly worse than your usual hard endometriosis week, so insights can separate a one-off spike from a repeating pattern.
• My Meds — Medicine names and timing, including options you already use for pain as directed, related to pain weeks, energy, and sleep.
• My Labs — Result dates for imaging, bloodwork, or other tests, weighed against the pain and function of that week.
• Weekly Goals — Set one small aim and see whether it held, which shows whether a habit change helped.
• Learn — Short education topics on endometriosis themes such as cycle pain, fatigue, pacing, and visit prep.
• AI companions — Clara and specialist companions answer with your logged history in view.
• My Care Team — Add clinicians and visit notes to prepare questions and review answers.
• Doctor Report — Export a one-page summary from your logged history when a written summary helps a short visit.
• My Assessments — Structured check-ins that give insights more context about your life.
• Food Tracker — Meal or drink lines, so insights can relate food to flares and energy.
• Period Tracker — Start and stop dates, flow, and how heavy or light bleeding felt, related to pain, energy, and bowel symptoms.
• Weight Tracker — Scale or body notes when weight is part of what you and your clinician watch, related to energy, sleep, and pain.

Everything you log builds one history, and insights get stronger as it grows. Custom symptoms let you add your own labels.

Sources

• NHS — Having an operation (surgery): Before surgery
• NHS — Laparoscopy
• NICE — Endometriosis: diagnosis and management (NG73), Recommendations
• Working group of ESGE, ESHRE, and WES. Recommendations for the surgical treatment of endometriosis. Part 2: deep endometriosis. Hum Reprod Open. 2020
• University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — Surgical management of endometriosis

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